James couldn't help it; he sauntered back to the common room. He was very pleased with himself. Everything had gone so smoothly! Now all he had to do was keep it a secret from Lily…

The portrait opened for James and he ducked his head to enter.

"Careful!" a girl yelled at him. James looked up in surprise.
"Hestia!" he grinned. "I didn't see you there!"
Hestia frowned. She reminded James of Professor McGonagall. "Yes, I know. You were looking down."

James gave her his best lopsided grin. "I'm sorry."

His grin turned out to be a big mistake. "You're trying to charm me," Hestia observed. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing."
"You liar! Are you planning another prank?" Hestia put her hands on her hips sternly. James shook his head.
"Nah. No pranks this year," he said honestly.
Hestia was very suspicious. "I want to believe you. Really, I do. But I don't trust you at all. So let me in on what you're doing or I'll tell Lily you're up to something."

James could not have that. Lily was ruthless and would not give in until he caved… and James knew how much he couldn't resist Lily.

"Please don't," James begged. A last resort, he knew. "It's top secret, and you can relax because McGonagall is on board with everything and so is Dumbledore…" he trailed off. Hestia's eyebrows were climbing further and further up her head.

"You have three hours to tell me everything," she decided. "Or I'm going to Lily."

The Fat Lady was very curious as to what was taking so long for her to close, but she could guess. "Are you going to stand there and smooch all day or are you going to get a move on and close me?" she shrieked.

"I'll tell you after dinner," James countered, and moved past her. In front of the fire, he could spy Sirius and Peter so he headed straight for them.
"I've finished the posters!" Peter announced when he saw James. He had four notices in front of him, in the pastel colours of each house. A still picture of Hogsmeade was faded into the paper.

HOGSMEADE WEEKEND!

First Weekend of October

(Saturday 5 to Sunday 6)

Reminder to all Third Years that permission slips must be signed by a parent or a guardian and handed to Mr Filch on the day.

"They look great, Peter!" James praised. Peter blushed a little. "Sirius, we're good to go. Minnie's on board." Sirius began whooping in joy.
"I told you the biscuits would work!"
James rolled his eyes. "Hang on! We just have a little setback."
Sirius froze. "What type of setback?"
James lounged back onto a couch. "Hestia's onto us."
"Already! You're awful at keeping secrets, Prongs. You've leaked it already haven't you?" Sirius was only teasing, but he was still a little bit disappointed in his best mate. They swore absolute secrecy!

"I haven't. She doesn't know what's going on, but I have until after dinner to tell her what we're doing or she's going to Lily," James finished sadly.
Peter shrugged. "Just tell her we're planning a prank."
"I already told her Minnie and Dumbledore were on board," James admitted. Peter shook his head; James looked to Sirius for support, but he was deep in thought.

"This might actually be a good thing," he said slowly. "Hear me out. Hestia could keep Lily busy, deter any strange questions she might have, and help us plan the whole thing. She's a girl, she knows all about that stuff, right?" Sirius looked to his mates for confirmation.
James and Peter shrugged, then nodded. "I guess so?"

Sirius jumped up onto his feet. "I am the king!" he yelled.
"Sit down, you lunatic!"

At dinner, Lily was very curious as to where Hestia had disappeared to. She'd been sparse all day!

"Who are you looking for?" Marlene asked. In front of her, she had a combination of garlic bread, sausage, roast potato and gravy. Not a very colourful dinner, in Lily's opinion.
"Hestia! I haven't seen her all day," Lily whined. Marlene snorted.
"Well, you have been cooped up in the Library with Remus," she said fairly. "She probably had other things to do."
"Yes, but what? What's wrong with the Library?" It was one of Lily's favourite places at Hogwarts and she was very protective of her haven.
"It smells a bit, Lily. You know Hestia doesn't like bad smells."
"The Library does not smell," Lily argued half-heartedly, but she let it go. Hestia had to show up sooner or later, right?

Lily looked up at the Professors, most of who were missing from the table. Dumbledore, notably, was absent. She was suddenly reminded of her promise to badger him about James and his Head Boy status. Lily realised she didn't care anymore. It is what it is.

"Hello, stranger!" Marlene said. Lily snapped to attention and saw Hestia sitting opposite her. "Lily was just complaining about not having seen you all day!"
Hestia gave a tight lipped smile. "Sorry our classes don't always match up," she said. Her eyes were casting about the Hall.
"Looking for someone?" Lily asked coyly.
"Actually, yes. Have you seen James about?"

Marlene's eyebrows raised and Lily's stomach burned. "Why are you looking for him?" Lily demanded. Hestia wasn't looking at her. "Need to ask him something," she muttered. A few moments later, she jumped up from her seat and disappeared.

"What the hell is going on?" Marlene wondered. Lily shrugged. She definitely wanted to know, but Hestia wasn't hanging around to explain. Hestia had spotted James and without as much as a glance behind her she almost ran toward him. James had seen her coming, she knew, but he sat anyway. Cocky bastard.

"I said after dinner, Hestia," James grumbled. Or maybe that was his stomach that was growling. James was digging into his food with gusto.
"I know, I know," Hestia said. "But if I sat with Lily a moment longer I was going to blow. I've been avoiding her all day, James. Do you know how hard that is?"

Hestia inferred that he did, and she was right.

"Please, James. I look very suspicious standing behind you. Grab some food and let's go already!" Hestia didn't know why she was so desperate to leave, but she knew it had something to do with Lily. She could definitely feel someone's eyes burning into her back.
"Alright, fine! Geez."
James filled his hands with pasties and bacon and left the Great Hall, Hestia right behind him. She didn't look back to see if anyone was watching her, she already knew they were.

"So what are you planning?" Hestia whispered once they'd left. James leaned against a wall, leaving Hestia to stand tall. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"A Christmas Ball," James informed her.
Honestly, Hestia was a bit let down. "That's it? A ball? You couldn't have told me that earlier?"
James was shaking his head. "I had to check with the others to make sure it was okay you knew. It's top secret and absolutely nobody is allowed to know, especially Lily."
"I'm not even going to ask why Lily isn't in on your plan," Hestia murmured, watching James blush a little. "But I'm sure I can guess. You are aware that Christmas isn't for another two months and we haven't even had Halloween or Hogsmeade yet?"

James shrugged. "Yeah, I know. But the Ball will take lots of planning and preparation. So…" James appraised Hestia's face very carefully. She looked a bit amused at his grand plan. "Do you want in or not?"

Hestia smiled. "Of course."